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Sunday, 25 January 2015

GUEST BLOG: 2015 business travel trends in the hotel sector

Business travellers are set to benefit from a raft of
innovations in 2015 as technology rapidly evolves within the hotel
accommodation sector. My predictions for the year ahead are as follows:

1) Improved
bookability of hotels for business travellers

In 2015, business travellers are set to benefit from
improved content when booking accommodation as hotels realise that content is
king when it comes to converting bookings.

Hotels are quickly starting to realise, that it’s not just
location and price, but also that the breadth and depth of information they
provide can have a major impact on the conversion of searches to bookings in
both online and offline environments.

This will mean that business travellers save time in finding
a hotel that best suits their needs as they will be able to access much
improved photography for each property, detailed information about facilities,
booking conditions, services and location, room availability and guests’
comments and reviews.

As the functionality of booking engines improve in 2015,
business travellers will find that they start to have more personalised
experiences when booking hotels online.

For example, HRS is trialling a recommendation engine in
2015 which will intuitively match the needs of the traveller to a recommended
hotel. The technology can even ensure that business travellers are receiving
the best rate at that time, even if it is lower than the company’s negotiated
rate. We expect business travellers to trust the recommendation as they become
used to this technology.

3)Hotels
embracing latest technology to bring convenience and personalised experiences
for business travellers

This year, HRS conducted a survey with the Fraunhofer IAO
that revealed that 42 per cent of guests from the UK would rather operate their
hotel room’s lighting, air conditioning and TV via a single device rather than
using a separate remote control or switch.

As the fast-paced high-tech world finds its way into hotels
with tablets instead of guest folders, smartphones instead of room keys, and apps
instead of remote controls, the hotel industry is starting to respond to
customer demands, and we predict that innovation in this area will really take
off in 2015. Hoteliers are starting to recognise that business travellers want
the latest technology and best gadgets available during their stay to ensure
that they have the best experience.

4)Public
work areas on the increase for business travellers in hotels

According to recent research by HRS, 75% of business
travellers in the UK typically have to conduct business duties at the hotel
they’re staying in. In response to this need, we are seeing that there is a
trend for hotels to introduce ‘co-working’ spaces into their public areas to
create pleasant working environments within their lobbies. As a result,
business travellers in 2015 are likely to be able to take advantage of open
space within hotels which are equipped with features such as mains connections,
docking stations and free Wi-Fi.

This blog post was written by Jon West, Managing Director of HRS in the UK
and Ireland. HRS is exhibiting at the Business Travel Show 25-26 February 2015 in London. Register for a free visitor pass at www.businesstravelshow.com/register. Find out more about HRS at www.hrs.com.